This Woman's Work
by Rock O'Love
Summary: Paul recalls his college years and meeting the love of his life, while he waits anxiously in a hospital, where his wife is under critical condition.


_No!_ he thought. This couldn't be happening. This was supposed to be the best day of his life, and suddenly he found himself standing alone in the empty corridor on the third floor. Five hours earlier, Paul Levesque and his wife of three years, Stephanie had come into St. James Hospital, prepared to deliver their first child; or so they thought. 

An hour ago Paul was at his wife's side, video camera in hand, cheering Stephanie on. The poor girl had been in so much pain and had the horrific screams to prove it. The strain must have been too much for her body to handle.

Now he was leaning against the wall in that maternity ward, just outside his wife's room. There weren't any other husbands. They were all in the rooms of their wives, which is where he was supposed to be. Time had never seemed so slow.

The nurses had rushed him out of there so quickly that he could barely comprehend what was going on. No one came out to give him any answers, and it had been a whole hour now. Stephanie passed out just seconds after giving birth to their daughter. As Paul tried going through the events in his head more clearly, he remembered glimpsing at his wife and just now realized what she looked like at that moment. There was chaos in the room and excitement when the baby arrived, but Stephanie appeared to be struggling for air. Her eyes wandered before they rolled back and then closed.

The moniter started beeping like crazy, catching the doctor's attention immediatly. Before he knew it there was a medical team dressed in green, purple, and blue scrubs surrounding his wife's hospital bed. Everyone was rushing around, ordering IV's filled with medication he never even heard of.  
"What's going on?" he asked, a worried expression crossing his face, and trying to see over the doctors so Paul could look at Stephanie.  
No one even acknowledged him. Paul's fuse cut short. "Damnit, what the hell is going on?" he shouted, making his way over there.  
"Stephanie, can you hear me?" the doctor repeated, while they all worked feverishly at getting some answers.  
"Stephanie?" Paul said, hoping to see her eyes open at the sound of his voice. But he had no such luck.

"Steph, come back to me. Wake up," Paul pleaded to her, pushing himself in between two nurses. "Wake up, sweetheart!"

And that is when he was asked to leave the room, but Paul refused. He wasn't leaving until somebody told him just what was happening to his wife.  
"No!" he fought them, "Get your hands off me, I want to see my wife! What is wrong with her? Tell me now!"

The last words he remembered saying before the door closed on him was her name, twice in a row. He didn't even get to hold his baby. He only saw her for a short moment when she came out, before Stephanie passed out.

He looked at the dark blue scrub shirt that he had on. As Paul glanced down at himself, he held out his hands and stared at the faint spots of blood on the material. It was Stephanie's. The nurse who was forcing him out of that room must have had it on her hands. Steph was losing a lot of blood too.

Paul's eyes began to sting after he had been staring at that closed door for so long. His body slowly slid down the wall behind him, his head falling right into his hands. Why did it happen to them? He couldn't lose her, she was everything to him, his life. Their lives as a real family were just beginning. 

_Ohhhh ooooo. Ohhhh ooooo. Pray God you can cope. I stand outside this woman's work, this woman's world. Oh it's hard on the man. Now his part is over. Now starts the craft of the father. I know you have a little life in you yet. I know you have a lot of strength left. I know you have a little life in you yet, I know you've got a lot of strength left._

Memories from their relationship began to flash across his spinning mind. Like their wedding day, when she had stepped out of that limo in her white dress, and he took her arm with his. She looked so beautiful and elegant. Then he saw the day that Stephanie told him she was pregnant. Paul had never been so happy. He just kissed her forever, feeling like he was on top of the galaxy. They were trying for awhile.

_I should be crying but I just can't let it show. I should be hoping but I can't stop thinking. All the things we should've said but we never did, all the things we should've done but we never did. All the things given but we didn't, oh darling make it go. Make it go away._

Paul shut his eyes tightly, trying not to cry and hold out hope for Steph. He had to be strong for her right now. The only thing he could do was pray right now. And so he took advantage of that, right in the middle of that hallway.

_Give me these moments, oh. Give them back to me. Give me your little kiss. Give me your hand. I know you've got a lot of strength left. All the things we should've said but we never said. All the things we should've done but we never did. All the things that you needed from me, all the things that you wanted from me. All the things I should've given but I didn't...oh darling, make it go. Just make it go away now. _

As Paul sat on the cold tile floor outside Stephanie's hospital room, his mind began to blur. He stared off into space until the voices over the loud speakers became incoherent. And suddenly, Paul found himself in a world of his own, spinning into oblivion.

He took himself back to the year that preceded the rest of his life; September 3rd, 1996 to be exact.

IIt began as just another night at the quad for Paul and his frat buddies. They were known for breaking all the rules and goofing off in the quad late at night. Paul attended Boston University for three years now.

He and four of his good friends, Kip, Shawn, Chris, and Eric were getting buzzed off Corona's by the big willow tree when the tune of Breakfast at Tiffany's could be heard nearby. They all stopped talking for a minute, paranoid that security had been called on them again. But the five of them threw away their worries when they potted a shiny black mercedes with the top down coming their way, and grinned enticingly at the group of young women singing along in the vehicle.

"Check it out," Eric nodded towards the car, "Looks like there's about to be a party for us, boys."  
Paul glanced over at the expensive car and could see three girls sitting on top of the convertible's back seat, singing obnoxiously and laughing at themselves.  
A pretentious smile spread across Kip's face as he said, "And look at that, there appear to be five lovely babes. Which means..."

Kip scoffed and finished, "Well, you all know what it means."  
"One for each of us," Shawn grinned, high-fiving the blonde-haired ladies man.

Paul laughed and looked over as the car came to a stop and the three girls in the back jumped out. Two were blonde and the other was a brunette. The ones who had been in the front seats had brown hair as well, just different shades of it.  
But there was only one lady that caught Paul's eye.

The guys walked closer to the group of young, upbeat women and pulled out their individual charm.  
"What brings you ladies out here on such a dark night?" asked Eric.  
A girl with short blonde hair laughed as she looked back at her friends. "Probably the same thing that brought you," she replied.

"Isn't it past your bedtime, boys?" the other blonde cut in with a devilish grin, catching Kip's attention instantly.  
He walked up to her and ran a finger across her jawline. "I have trouble sleeping without something warm and cosy to cuddle up to," he smoothly replied.  
"Ha," she laughed, removing his finger from her face. "Try using your pillow."

Kip blushed in embarrassment when his frat buddies all laughed, one of them saying, "Ouch, Kip. She shut you down quick!"  
Kip turned around and sneered at him. "Go suck it," he murmered.

Paul had been staring intently at the girl with the flowing, chocolate-brown waves of hair. It was too dark to make out the color of her eyes, but they sparkled when the moonlight caught a glimpse. She was looking at him too.

Stephanie acted shy but Paul noticed the coy expression on her face almost immediatly.

"So I assume you ladies go here?" asked Shawn.  
"We're freshman," a strikingly beautiful brunette answered.  
"You don't look like a freshman."

She smirked at him. "Thanks, I get it all the time."

The girl with the caramel-brown hair folded her arms across her chest, and raised her eyebrow, looking curiously at Eric. "You boys aren't going to offer us anything?"  
He looked taken back by her and couldn't help but chuckle. "Wow, you're a pretty forward gal," said Eric.

Chris shook his head and rolled his eyes, elbowing his friend. "She was referring to the beer, dumbass."  
Eric turned his head sharply and felt like a complete idiot. "Oh...uh yeah, we've got a few extra's over there. Why don't you walk with me?"

She laughed but followed the man. "Thanks," she said, looking up at him, "I'm Krysten."  
"Eric Sterba," he introduced himself, "I'm a junior here."

Jenna, Amanda, and Rebecca fell under the spells of Chris, Kip, and Shawn, and they were having one-on-one conversations with each other in no time.

Paul stood a few feet away from Stephanie and shoved a hand in his pocket, holding the Corona in his other. He took a swig of it and raised his eyebrows up and down, nodding at her.

Stephanie smiled a little. "God," he thought, "She has an incredible smile."

"So," Paul said, trying to spark a conversation between them, "are you a freshman too?"  
She nodded, making Paul think 'Great, she's one of those silent, conservative types. There goes my chance.'  
"That's cool," he nodded, "What's your major?"

Fearing that she would walk away or something, Paul held his breath, but quickly let it go when she spoke up and said, "Mass Communications."  
"Oh yeah? That's neat, this is a good place to study that stuff I heard."  
"Mmhmm," she nodded, pressing her lips together.

"How about you?"  
"Well to be honest, I'm not really sure what I wanna major in anymore. I'm actually focusing a lot on my training right now."  
"Training for what?" she asked.  
"Wrestling. I'm hopin to get into the professional business eventually."

Stephanie's interest in him had suddenly risen. "My dad runs a wrestling business," she said.  
"Which one?" he asked.

Paul had known about every wrestling corporation around to date. He had watched it since he was a kid.  
"World Wrestling Federation," she shocked him, "You follow it?"  
"Are you kidding?" he gasped, "I've been following it for fifteen years! It's been like my dream to make it into that business!"

Stephanie smiled sweetly at him.  
"So are you saying that your father is Vince McMahon?"  
"Uh huh," she nodded, "I'm Stephanie, his youngest."

Paul didn't know what to say at this point. Was she really the daughter of the world's highest wrestling corporation owner? It all seemed to good to be true. He only wished that they had discussed this later. If he tried to pursue her romantically now, she'd probably think he was using her to get into the business.

Stephanie's friends came back before they could talk more about it.  
"Come on, Steph!" Jenna laughed, grabbing her friend's arm and rushing her to the car.  
Paul stayed standing where he was and never took his eyes off of Stephanie.

She looked at him with an apologetic shrug while being flocked away by her friends.  
The girls had kissed the other guys goodnight. Rebecca had actually gone back to the frat house with Shawn. They left about ten minutes before the rest of the gang called it a night.

Before Paul could try and catch Steph, Krysten turned the Mercedes around and sped out of the courtyard. The girls' innocent giggles could be heard leaving with them.

Paul woke up the next morning to fake animal noises coming from his fratmates downstairs. He groaned when he checked his clock, seeing it was barely ten in the morning. This was one of his days to sleep in because he had no classes.

He reluctantly got up and used the washroom before walking downstairs. He heard Shawn talking to Rebecca in the kitchen. The house was such a disaster, it was a wonder any girls would want to stay the night.

Shawn watched his best friend enter the kitchen and he laughed.  
"What're you laughing about?"  
"Did you just get back from the hair fairy?" Shawn remarked, making Rebecca giggle quietly.

Paul rolled his eyes as he opened the fridge door. "You're an idiot," he retorted.

His face grew red when he looked inside the fridge and discovered that there were no energy drinks.

Turning around again, he growled, "Who the hell finished off my energy drinks?"  
"Probably Jimmy or Nick," Shawn shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee and casually wrapping his arm around Rebecca's waist.  
"Tell 'em to go buy their own fucking drinks!"  
"Get up on the wrong side of the bed today?" Rebecca finally spoke up.

Paul glanced at her with a glare in his eyes, but he held back his opinions.  
"He's just pissed that I woke up with a beautiful girl when he was only dreaming about it," Shawn dared to say.

"Michaels, I swear to God..."

"You seemed pretty interested in my friend Stephanie last night," Rebecca cut him off.  
That caught his attention. "Yeah, so?"  
Rebecca shrugged.

"She's single."  
"She's also the daughter of Vince McMahon," Paul muttered, pouring himself some orange juice.  
"Let me guess," said Rebecca, as she made her way around the kitchen island and leaned over it. "You think that you don't stand a chance with her."

Shawn suddenly laughed because he knew how cocky Paul often was.  
"No, but she knows I'm trying to get in the business, and if I were to ask her out now, well..."  
"She'd think you were just using her to get in?"

Paul looked at Rebecca with an irritated expression. "Do you always finish peoples' sentences?"  
She just smiled at him. "I could help change that if you weren't being such an ass right now."

He didn't respond to her. But Stephanie was the only thing he could think about now that Rebecca brought her up.  
"I'm having lunch with her at Berg's Cafe later on," said Bec, "maybe you'll coincedenally run into us?"  
Shawn looked at his friend with the stubborn frown and said, "Hey Paul, didn't you just tell me about that place?"

Paul gave a heavy sigh and turned so that he was facing Shawn entirely. "What are you getting at?"  
"We've both got the day off, maybe we can grab a bite later?" he said.  
"I've got training later," said Paul.

"For how long?" asked Rebecca.  
Paul shrugged. "I usually go three or four hours."  
"Then you can meet us for an early dinner instead," she suggested.

Shawn nodded to let them know it would work for him.  
"Why not?" Paul said. "I'll train 'till four and then Shawn and I will hit up Berg's."  
"Perfect," Rebecca smirked, firmly clasping her hands together.

Rebecca and Stephanie went to the cafe later than originally planned. Becca decided to start scheming before Shawn and Paul showed up.  
"So Steph, I heard you got pretty cozy with Shawn's friend last night."  
Stephanie looked at her with a quirked eyebrow. "Bec, we talked for like five minutes. There was nothing cozy about it," she laughed.

"Oh, well I guess I just assumed with the way Paul was talking this morning."  
"What was he saying exactly?" Stephanie suspiciously asked her.  
"No, not like that. He was just telling me how attractive he thought you were."

Stephanie blushed as she tucked her hair behind her ear; a habit of hers when it came to romance.  
"Really?" she asked.  
Rebecca smiled at her friend, giggling a bit. "What, is that so hard to believe?"  
"Kind of," Steph admitted, "he is a junior, after all. What could a guy like that possibly want with a freshman like me?"  
"Not your money, if that's what you're thinking," Rebecca made sure to mention. "He told me he would've asked you out, but felt it would backfire."  
"Why?" Stephanie looked curious.

"Something about your dad's company, he didn't want you to get the idea that he's trying to use you," she said, casually.  
"Oh..."Steph mumbled, looking down at her glass of water. She took a sip of it.

She was very much attracted to Paul and regardless of where she came from, Paul seemed sweet and honest.  
"Anyway, I told him you were off men," said Rebecca, in the same casual manner as before.  
"YOU WHAT?" Stephanie exclaimed.

Rebecca giggled at Steph's outburst, but quickly told her, "Relax, I was kidding."  
"He totally digs you," she nodded assuringly.

As Rebecca glanced around the cafe, she saw two, tall blonde men coming through the door. She turned back to Stephanie.  
"And um, I sort of told them we'd be here today, so you might see Paul."  
"What? Bec..." Steph began to confront her, until her eyes caught a glimpse of a very enormous-looking Paul.

Her eyes rolled upward and she tilted her head in the same direction.  
"Hi," Paul smiled at her.  
"Hi..." she smiled back, licking her dry lips.

Shawn kissed Rebecca's cheek and sat down. "We were just talking about you guys," she smirked.  
"Oh were you now?" said Shawn, grinning mischieviously at her.

Stephanie turned a few shades of pink again, glancing at Paul who was still standing beside her.  
"Would you like to sit down?" she asked him, politely nodding towards the chair.  
"Thanks," he smiled, taking a seat right next to her.

Shawn and Rebecca were already lost in conversation, flirting with one another, probably headed straight for the sheets again.

Paul glanced over his shoulder at those two and sighed. He looked back at Stephanie who just smiled awkwardly, reading his mind.  
"I'm just gonna get this off my chest," he said to her, "I'm attracted to you. A lot."

She looked at him, pleasantly surprised. "Well I might as well get this out in the open right off the bat," she replied, "I am too and I don't see you as the kind of guy who uses women."  
He looked at her quizically and she said, "Becca told me you and her spoke this morning."

Now it was Paul's turn to blush but he wasn't sure why. He just nodded at her, smiling. 

Paul had been pacing for so long that his shoes were now wearing the carpet thin. The sound of a predictable rainstorm finally made him stop. He leaned against the dusty windowsill and gazed outside through the thick glass. Still no word on his wife or his baby. But the rain brought another memory to his mind.

Paul had finally worked up enough courage to ask Stephanie out on a date. They wanted to go out as soon as possible while the weather was still pleasant, seeing as how the year was well into fall by now.

Stephanie looked into the oval shaped mirror that hung above her dresser, making sure that there were no smidges in her make-up. She checked every curl in her hair so that none would fall flat. This first date carried a lot of anxiety compared to dates from the past. She hadn't of figured out why though. All Stephanie knew was that a charming, slightly older man was taking her out tonight, and that her stomach was filled with butterflies.

Little did she know that Paul was just as nervous about their date as she was. Maybe it was because she held such a high rank in society, or simply because she was the first woman to ever have taken Paul's breath away.

He had gone out and gotten a haircut specifically for this date. Just an inch or so was taken off. When he entered the East Wing Dormitory hall, Paul could clearly see that it was not co-ed. He smiled to himself at the thought of sneaking into her dorm room late at night. He sensed that Stephanie was not as innocent as she appears on the surface. Something about the all-girls dormitory told Paul that this young woman had a thing for adventure and breaking the rules here and there.

Three solid knocks sounded at her door, just as Stephanie was putting the finishing touches on her lip gloss. She smiled in the mirror, excitement pouring out of her eyes. This is it, she thought.

The door opened as if his life were going in slow motion. She appeared before him not only as Stephanie McMahon, but a raving beauty. She was wearing an autumn-brown colored dress that stopped just above the knees with a cascading appeal. The upper part of the dress cut like a V-neck, wrapping it's way up around her neck.   
"Wow!" he gasped. "Almost didn't recognize you with your hair like that."

Steph gave a light-hearted laugh and sort of nodded. "Come in, I just have to get my purse."

He stepped inside of what looked like your typical female dorm room. Colorful beads hanging from closets and windows, decorative bedding, stuffed animals, you name it. Paul just smiled. "You look pretty amazing in that dress," he told her.  
"Thank you!" she smiled, feeling her cheeks blush again. "I'm ready now."

Paul led her to his car and opened the door for her like a gentleman. She went to sit down but stopped. "Oh, there's um...something on the seat," she motioned.  
"Oops, I forgot about that," Paul smiled, grabbing a small boquet of lilies.

He handed them to her and Stephanie looked surprised. "These are for me?"  
"Mmhmm."  
"Wow, that was sweet," she said, "thank you, Paul."

After a light meal in a quaint Italian restaurant, the pair shared a canoli, and drove down to the shore as the sun began to set. The air was just right, but Paul kept offering Stephanie the blue button-up shirt he had on, over a grayish-black undershirt. She was fine for the time being.

"I love coming out here," she said, breathing in the fresh air.  
"It's nice," Paul agreed, "and I'm glad you're enjoying yourself so far."  
Stephanie looked at him and smiled sweetly. "Well, you are quite the date, Mr. Levesque," she grinned. "Very different from all the other guys I've gone out with."

Paul chuckled and raised an eyebrow when he asked, "Good different or bad different?"  
Stephanie paused and then laughed at his apprehensive expression. "Good different," she nodded, "Absolutely."

They stood along the pier just listening to the waves crash against the sandbar. Seagulls would whistle in the distance every now and then. Stephanie felt like she was in a movie. Paul had been quiet for awhile and she was a little worried. She shifted uncomfortable against the rails and cleared her throat.

Paul snapped out of his pensive state and turned to face her. She fixed her eyes back on him, her beautiful brown hair just blowing with the wind.  
She looked at him, waiting for words. "Stephanie, I..." Paul stuttered at first.

Steph giggled. "Well, are you going to finish that sentence?" she asked. "I'm all ears."  
He smiled as his muscles relaxed somewhat. "Yes, I would just like to kiss you right now, that's all."  
She raised an eyebrow with a devilish grin crossing her lips.  
"You can say no."

Again, she was laughing. He was beginning to feel stupid now. "I know I don't have to kiss you," Stephanie said.  
"It was just a th- -"

Before he could even finish that word, her glossy pink lips were brushing against his. She took him by surprise. But this was the kind of unpredictable personality he was thinking about earlier.

Although it felt like longer, their kiss had only lasted about five seconds before an unexpected rain fell on their heads, breaking them up.  
They both laughed shyly until realizing that they were being soaked at the moment.

Paul removed his dress shirt and put it around Stephanie, leading her away to his car. She screamed and giggled as he held her hand and ran down the pier together. Neither of them could have asked for a better first date. 

Stephanie and Paul began seeing a lot of each other after that night on the pier. She loved to go watch him train with Killer Kowalski, who just happened to be a friend of the family to Steph.

"You've found yourself quite an amazing girl there, Levesque," Kowalski told Paul one day, while Stephanie sat in a chair near the ring. 

She smiled modestly at him and Paul looked over.  
"I know," he smiled, staring directly into Stephanie's eyes from a far.

Her smile grew even sweeter. "Hey Kowalski, you think that my dad will be fond of Paul?" she asked.  
"I sure do, sweetheart. Your boy here has a lot of talent and a promising future if you ask me. I'll even send your father my recommendations!"  
Stephanie stood up and grinned. "Thanks."

She put her Ellington freeport tote around her shoulder and walked up to the ring.  
Paul raised his eyebrow and asked, "You leaving, babe?"  
"Yeah," she replied, "I have to get to the bank before they close and call my father about next week."  
Paul nodded in understanding and Steph kissed him goodbye for now. "Be careful," he said. 

Stephanie patted his chest and caressed his cheek before leaving the building. Paul was always telling her to be careful before she went somewhere, even if it was just to the coffee shop around the corner. It was sweet that he cared so much for her safety. 

After making a deposit at the local bank, Stephanie went back to her dorm so she could call her father, Vince McMahon.  
"Vince McMahon speaking, hello?"  
"Hi, daddy!" a squealing and cheerful voice answered.  
"Steph, hi! How's my baby girl doing up there?" he asked.  
"Oh, it's been wonderful. I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it home for mom's birthday," Steph apologized.  
"She understands, sweetie. College life is very busy."

"So tell me, how are your classes?"  
"Everything is good, dad. I'm ahead of schedule in most of my courses."  
"That's my girl!" he beamed proudly over the phone.

"The main reason I called was to let you know that Paul and I will be coming out to Connecticut on Tuesday of next week," said Stephanie. She had been telling her parents a lot about this new man in her life, and they seemed happy for her. Of course her father always had his suspicions about every guy Stephanie went out with. This one sounded special to her though, and Vince found it interesting that Paul was in training.

"Oh okay, that's great. I'll make sure and tell your mother that," said Vince. "Do you know what time your flight gets in?"  
"I'm pretty sure they said around two, but we'll call you when we land."  
"Shall I send a limo?" he asked.  
"Daddy, you don't have to do that. We can rent our own car."  
"Don't waste your money on those expenses, Stephanie. You both are in college and money is tight as it is there."

She smiled and sighed through the mouth piece. "I give in."  
Vince was smiling. "Okay. Listen honey, they're calling me into a meeting now, but I'm sure we'll speak to you before next week, so take care of yourself and I'll see you when you get in."  
"Okay, I will. Thanks, daddy. I love you."  
"Love you too, bye Steph," he said, as they both hung up the phone.

As excited as Paul was to be meeting Vince McMahon, he couldn't get the knots out of his stomach. This could make or break his dream career. He had to impress her family and prove to them that he truely loved their daughter. Even if things failed for him in the wrestling career track, he would at least have Stephanie.

_Paul felt his cell phone vibrate in his back pocket, underneath his blue scrubs. He didn't feel like answering it, but checked to see who was calling. It was Stephanie's parents. He knew that it wouldn't be the right time to tell them about what was happening, so he let it go. They would just assume that he was busy in the room with Steph. Paul only wished that that could be the case, as it was just over an hour ago._

It was funny to him when Paul thought back to that first meeting with Vince. Ten years ago, if you had told Paul that one day he would be Vince McMahon's son-in-law, he would have laughed in your face and piledrive you right into the concrete just for "mocking him."

Stephanie kept glancing at her boyfriend during the flight to Connecticut. He was quieter than usual and seemed a bit jumpy. She knew that he must be nervous.  
Smiling gently at him, Steph placed her hand on Paul's leg. "Baby, you're knee is shaking. Relax, they're going to love you, I promise!"

Paul turned his head and swallowed hard. "I'm fine," he lied. But Stephanie just eyed him.  
"Yeah, I'm a little anxious about meeting your folks, Steph. But I'm twenty-two years old, I can handle two days getting to know my girlfriend's parents."  
She smiled at him and rubbed his bicep. "I never doubted that, Paul."

The flight was short since Connecticut was fairly close to Boston. When the couple exited the terminal, they found their bags on one of the conveyer belts nearby. Paul carried Stephanie and his things.  
"There's the limo," she pointed, waving him in her direction.  
"Here goes nothing," he whispered to himself.

Paul had rarely been in limos growing up. His family was middle-class. The only times he could remember taking a limo someplace was when a wedding or funeral went on, and of course prom night.  
"How many of these things does your dad own?" he blurted out on the way there.  
Stephanie held back her laughter. "Own? I don't know, two or three. The rest is just through the company for traveling and what not."  
"Damn."

As the driver slowed down and Paul looked out the dark windows, he saw them pulling up to a black wrought-iron gate. The gates opened and the limo drove around a circular pavement, surrounded by oak trees and beautiful landscaping. It was everything he pictured their house to look like.

"Wow," he gasped, stepping out of the limo and turning around to see the elegant fountain spurt in the center of the circular driveway. The limo driver opened Stephanie's door for her, and retrieved their bags.

She smiled, "Thank you, Raul."  
"Welcome home, Miss. McMahon."

She walked up to Paul and took his hand, still smiling. "Ready?"   
"It's now or never," he said.

As they were walking up the steps, the white door at the front of the house opened, and out stepped Vince McMahon. Paul felt a wave of nausea come over him.  
"Daddy!" Stephanie beamed, running into her father's arms.  
"Oh, I missed you!" he said, giving her a big squeeze.

Stephanie giggled and turned her body about ninety degrees. She extended her arm and introduced the two men standing before her.  
"Daddy, this is Paul Levesque, your future World Wrestling Champion," she teased.  
Paul blushed at the compliment but remained modest. Vince grinned with anticipation. "So this is him, huh?"

"Yep," said Steph, taking Paul's hand. "This is the guy who's changed my life."  
Paul smiled at her but on the inside he was quite surprised to hear that. Up until this point, he was not aware of the fact that he had made such an impact in her life.  
Vince smiled courteously and shook his hand firmly. "It's good to meet you, Paul!"  
"It's a pleasure to meet you too, sir," he smiled. "Your house is wonderful, it's easy to see why your daughter is such an amazing, respectful young woman, having grown up in a place like this."

Flattery is the key. "Well she's had her share of moves over the years, haven't you Steph?"  
She nodded and smiled. "But thank you. I'm glad to see that you think so highly of my daughter."  
"I think the world of her, sir," Paul told him, wrapping his arm around Stephanie.

At first, Vince raised an eyebrow and stared suspiciously as this guy put his arm around his only daughter. He hated to think of Stephanie being a piece of ass to any man, no matter how sincere their feelings for her may be.

Paul caught the glare in Vince's eye and saw how uneasy it had made the man. Feeling his throat go dry, Paul's hand slowly slipped off of Stephanie and remained at his side.

Stephanie decided to break this awkward moment up as soon as possible. "So where's mom at?" she asked, walking inside the house, guiding Paul to follow.  
"Linda?" Vince called, closing the door behind them. "Honey, the kids are here!"

Paul felt a little strange being referred to as one of the kids. It made him sound like he and Stephanie were brother and sister. Then again, maybe it was a good thing. One day he could marry this girl and become like a real son to Vince. Then he would be honored to be called one of his kids.

"Coming, I'm coming, I'm sorry!" a sweet woman's voice hurried down with her on the spiraling staircase.

Paul was much more relaxed when seeing Stephanie's mother. She was smiling like any mother would, comforting and kind.  
"Hello, honey!" Linda beamed, hugging and kissing her youngest child.  
"Hi, mom! I missed you, it's great to be home!"

Paul smiled at the two women, trying to avoid Vince's gaze the best he could right now, afraid that if he wrinkled his nose the wrong way or blinked too hard, Vince would grab his most powerful rifle in his collection. 

After the embrace, Linda smiled at the young but extremely tall man, who brought a large prescence to the room.  
"And you must be Paul," she said.  
He nodded and shook her hand, but Linda went in and kissed his cheek. "Hello, Mrs. McMahon. It's so nice to finally meet you, Stephanie speaks so highly of you both."  
Linda glanced at her husband and smiled. "Nice to meet you too, son. I've been anxious for Stephanie to introduce us."

Vince nodded at his excited wife and forced a smile. He knew wrestlers very well so it was only necessary that he study this Paul guy closely, to make sure he was right for his daughter. After all, she deserved nothing but the best. 

Paul sensed that he would need to suck up to Stephanie's father in order to impress him, and that's exactly what he did. He figured that it was better to only talk about wrestling with Vince in moderation. The last thing he needed was for that family to get the same impression of Paul that he had been dreading in his mind the past week.

Stephanie was helping her mother clean up the kitchen after dinner that evening.   
"I like him, Steph. He seems like a wonderful person," said Linda.  
Steph turned and smiled. "He is a wonderful person, mom. We have the best time together."

Linda turned to her daughter and touched her forearm. "Just be true to yourself and know that you do not have to change for any man."  
Stephanie looked confused and wrinkled her nose. "I am true to myself."  
"I know that you are, dear. But you're a freshman in college, and he is a little older. There isn't anything wrong with that, I just want you to be careful. I'm your mother, it's my job to worry."

Steph smiled at her again and gave her an assuring nod of the head. "You've raised me right, mom. Don't worry, I'm doing just fine." Linda patted Stephanie's cheek and smiled sweetly with a dish towel in hand.

Meanwhile Paul and Vince were in the living room trying to keep up a conversation without it turning awkward.  
"Do you have any siblings, Paul?" Vince asked.  
"Yes'sir. I've got an older sister named Lynn."  
"Are you close with her?"  
"Yeah, we're very close," Paul nodded. "I have a nephew too, he's about a year old."  
"Oh that's nice!"

Paul smiled and nodded in agreement, while his brain tried to decide quickly of what to say next.  
"Killer Kowalski called me and said he's been training you for the ring," Vince changed the subject.  
"Yeah."  
"How do you like him as a trainer? Learning a lot?"  
"Oh absolutely, he's an excellent trainer. He's not afraid to push me past my limits and he knows I'm willing to go along with that. Training has been one of my top priorities since I made the decision to go for the pro-wrestling career," explained Paul, assuming that Vince already knew Stephanie was a top priority as well.

"That's good that you have that competitive drive," Vince told him, talking in a more business-sounding manner. "Because most guys who say they wanna do this, they pump themselves up and think it's going to be a walk in the park. But once they step into that ring, it's like a lightbulb goes on, and they don't have the mental drive to keep going."  
"Yeah, I've seen that happen to some of the guys Kowalski trained. It's not something to take lightly, especially if you plan on getting into this kind of business."  
"Meeting the demands and such, right," Vince nodded.

It felt comfortable for both of them now that they were discussing business. In fact, Paul had forgotten all his reservations about Vince McMahon, and before they could realize it, the two were engaging in a deep conversation. Vince seemed to be warming up to Paul.

Linda and Vince struggled with the decision of whether or not their daughter and her boyfriend should be able to share a room for the evening. Stephanie and Paul were taking things slow and they did not sleep together yet.

Steph had a feeling her parents would be uneasy if she and Paul slept in the same bed that night, so the couple approached the McMahons' and told them that they would be in seperate rooms. It put everyone at ease. Somehow Paul knew that even if he had been in the same room as Stephanie, he would get little to no sleep, worrying that Vince would be plotting his revenge outside the door.

_Paul remembered the very first fight that he and Stephanie had had. On a scale of one to ten, he would have rated it as a five. It was a dumb arguement that started when Stephanie became upset with Paul for missing her father's dinner party. She thought that he would drift apart from her the closer he got to graduating college._

She ended up calling him that same night and apologizing. That's often how their fights went. Once in awhile they would have something more intense go on, but they were a good couple overall.

When Stephanie was a junior in college, Paul had come out to surprise her. And he had some wonderful news to share with her. He couldn't wait to tell her this.

She was sharing an apartment now with her friends Kristyn and Amanda. Someone buzzed from downstairs and Amanda just happened to be close to the door. Paul didn't want Stephanie to know he was there until she opened the door to him. So Amanda buzzed him in and then called for Stephanie, who was typing a journalism paper on her lap top.

"What's up, Manda?" she asked, coming out of her bedroom. Amanda nodded towards the front door. She was chomping on a Crunch bar and said, "Someone's comin up for you."

Steph frowned as she made her way to the door. "I wasn't expecting anybody..." she began, until the door opened and there stood the love of her life with an extravagant bouquet of red and white roses.  
Steph screamed happily and before she could throw herself at him, Paul opened his arms so the flowers would not be smushed when she did.

She nearly tackled him and Paul laughed, patting her back with the roses still in hand.  
"I can't believe this! What're you doing here?" she asked, pushing her brown hair behind her ears.

Paul closed the door behind him and handed her the flowers. "I couldn't wait. I had to come and tell you in person, because this is the best news I've ever heard!"  
"What news?" she asked, with an anxious-excited grin on her face. Steph smelled the heavenly scent of fresh roses and smiled. "Thank you for these, by the way."

He nodded and waited for her to put them in water. Paul was nearly jumping up and down, he was quite antsy.  
"Okay, tell me. What is it?" said Stephanie.  
Paul took in a deep breath and then took Stephanie's hands in his. "I got signed today!" he exclaimed.

"You did?!" Stephanie screamed again and threw her arms around him. He lifted her a few inches off the ground in their embrace. "Baby, I'm so proud of you! I knew you'd get that contract!"

He kissed her, still holding her hands. She could feel the excitement through his skin.  
"I don't know what you've been telling your dad, but he was sure eager to recruit me from WCW!"  
"I didn't say anything, babe. He's obviously been watching you on television," Stephanie replied honestly.

That just made Paul feel even better, like Vince was truely impressed with this guy's athletic ability. Like Stephanie had said time and time again, Vince was very particular about who he wanted wrestling for his company, the biggest one in the business. Paul knew from that day on to take his job with the utmost seriousness and never shame the WWE. He had respected Vince probably the most out of anyone.

_When Stephanie got involved with the business, Vince had reservations about one of his most popular wrestlers seriously dating his daughter. She had never planned on going into the family business, but one thing led to another. And before she knew it, Steph was named general manager of Smackdown! and then Vice President of the creative team._

There was a short point in their relationship where Paul and Stephanie were more or less forced to seperate. It wasn't good for business as Vince kept putting it. Stephanie was devastated over this. She had been with Paul for so long. She couldn't just give it all up now. But not even Vince McMahon could prevent their feelings from growing for each other. They couldn't stay away from one another. Vince eventually opened his eyes and began to notice the one thing that was true; They were in love. 

_"And do you, Paul, take Stephanie to be your wife?"  
"I do," Paul smiled tearfully at his bride._

As they slid the rings on each other's fingers, Stephanie recited the priest's words. "I, Stephanie Marie McMahon, take you Paul Michael Levesque to be my husband. To have and to hold, to love and to cherish, through good times and bad, in sickness and in health, till death parts us."

Paul followed after, and then the priest said those magical words that every bride dreams of hearing. "By the power invested in me and the state of new York, along with God I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may seal your union with a kiss."

Stephanie grinned from ear to ear and Paul looked like he was desperatly trying to contain the excitement from bursting out of him and making a fool of himself. She stepped forward and he leaned in towards her. Then, with her hand brushing against his tux, Stephanie captured Paul's lips in a tender kiss. The large applause echoed throughout the church, resonating from the vaulted ceilings.

Their wedding reception was extravagant. Everybody at the office would be talkin about it for months to come.

Paul remembered how irritated Stephanie got that night, because he kept asking her to pinch him. It was just too good to be true, almost un-imaginable. But he never woke up and his life that followed was a dream come true.

Now here he sat, waiting in an empty corner lobby while his wife and baby were at risk in there. A thick tear slid down his cheek and crept inside the corner of his lips. He tasted the drop of liquid salt as a few more fell.

_Give me these moments and give them back to me. Give me your little kiss, give me your hand. (I know you have a little life in you yet. I know you have a lot of strength left). I should be cryin but I just can't let it show, I should be hoping but I can't stop thinking. All the things we should've said that we never said, all the things we should've done but we never did. All the things that you needed from me, all the things that you wanted from me. All the things I could've given but I didn't...oh, darling make it go. Just make it go away now._

Just as Paul closed his eyes and felt himself drifting off into a dream, someone tapped his shoulder which opened his eyes back up immediatly. It was a nurse and he could see she still had his wife's blood spotted about her scrubs. Seeing that only made Paul fear the worst.

He tried to sit up straighter and didn't even have to ask her; She was already telling him the news.  
"Your wife lost a lot of blood. Her pulse stopped for a minute but the doctor got her back."  
"So she's alright now? Where is she?" he asked.  
"Recovering in the maternity ward, but we have her in a room located in what we call our MICU for critical new mothers."  
"Critical?" Paul choked out.

She tried to comfort him but he didn't respond to her motions. "I wanna see her," he demanded.   
"She's not stable yet, Mr. Levesque. I promise to come and get you as soon as she is."

The nurse rushed back through the double doors, leaving Paul there a mess. He ran his hands through his long golden hair and stood up. Once again, he leaned up against the wall. Impatiently, Paul tore off the blue scrub shirt, but felt too drained to bother with the pants.

The wait became too agonizing for him to just sit there like that. So Paul wandered off and found the hospital chapel. He used to say that all it really was was a closet that somebody fixed up, put some candles and holy crosses out, and called it a chapel. But right now he was desperate and he would try anything to help Stephanie.

He walked to the front pew and knelt down, bowing his head to pray. Paul asked God to give Stephanie her strength again and take care of their baby. He wasn't ready to lose them yet. Hell, he never wanted to lose them. 

When Paul returned to the waiting lounge up on the maternity floor, he sat down and waited for ten minutes. The same nurse came back out and quietly told him, "Your wife is awake and she's asking for you."  
He felt some bit of relief. At least she was alive and seemingly stable. Paul followed the nurse to Stephanie's room, almost afraid of what he might see.

He entered her hospital room alone and when he got past a little wall where the bathroom was, there lay Stephanie. She looked weak and pale, and very tired of course. She reached out her hand willing him to come to her. Paul went to her side and knelt on the floor, taking her hand and holding it firmly in his.  
"Hey babe," she whispered. Paul looked up and kissed her hand, forcing a smile.

Then he glanced around the room but saw no evidence of a baby ever being in there with her. He still looked for a bassinet. Maybe he had glanced at something too quick and didn't realize it was there. But no. There were only two people in that room right now. He felt the golf ball forming in his throat again.

"I didn't want the nurse to tell you," she began. He nodded in understanding and felt the tears burn the rims of his eyelids. Paul squeezed her hand tighter and sniffled. "I needed to be the one who told you..."

He nodded again and sobbed in way that warned her he was about to break.   
Stephanie tried to get him to look at her.

"Paul, it's a boy," she whispered. He stopped sniffling and held his breath, looking to her in confusion.  
"What?"  
"We have a baby boy," Stephanie smiled, tears of joy masking her blue eyes.

He laughed and cried at the same time. Was this for real? And he couldn't help but ask her, "Pinch me?"  
Stephanie rolled her eyes but smiled and did pinch his arm. He wasn't dreaming.

"A boy, huh?" he said, as she nodded in response. "And he's going to be okay?"  
"Yeah," she whispered, "He's in the NICU for a night. But he's perfect...so beautiful too. He's got your eyes, babe."  
Paul wiped away his tears and smiled at her. He leaned in and kissed her lips, stroking her hair back lovingly. "A little boy," he whispered to himself, shaking his head in amazement. "Wow."

"I love you, Steph. I love you so much," said Paul, kissing her hand repeatedly.  
She was tired but managed to smile sweetly and say, "I love you too, babe. More than anything in the world. You and our baby boy."  
Everytime he heard her mention their son, Paul smiled greatly. "Does our baby boy have a name yet?"

She shook her head. "I was waiting for you. But remember how whenever you and I got into a tiff, he would kick me, like as if he were angry with me for arguing with you?"  
"Yeah," Paul said, with a laugh.  
"I was thinking about it the other day when I was glancing at a baby name book. And I came across a name that meant defender of man."  
"Really? What was it?"  
"Alexander," she replied.

Paul smiled at her. "I like Alexander. Do we still agree on Michael for his middle name?"  
"Gift from God," she recalled that meaning, "Yes, we do."  
"Then I'll have to go visit our newest addition and tell the family that Alexander Michael Levesque has stubbornly made his way into the world," he grinned.  
Laughing, Stephanie agreed with a nod and widened eyes. "I can't wait to take Alex home."  
Paul kissed her wrist and smiled. "Me either, sweetheart. We've waited a long time for that little miracle."

This chapter is in memory of Alexander Raphael Rodriguez, my gaurdian angel, who's up in heaven now playing Gamecube and eating rice krispie treats. R.I.P. beautiful boy. 2000-2006

Four days after Alexander Levesque was born, his proud new parents were finally able to take him home. They had left their house in Connecticut as two and were now returning as three.

Stephanie was glowing the entire ride home. She looked much healthier and that gave Paul some relief. He was so glad that Stephanie and Alex were healthy/

He put the car in park when they reached the driveway.  
"Just wait right there," he told her, turning the engine off and getting out of the car. Stephanie frowned as she watched him run around to the other side of the car. He opened her door for her and then helped her out.  
"Don't forget the little guy," Steph said, with a cute smile directed at the backseat.  
He smiled and kissed her nose. "I got him."

Paul opened the other door and got the carrier to hook off from the carseat. Stephanie folded her hands anxiously in front of her.  
"He's doin that thing again with his eyes," said Paul.  
"What thing?" Steph asked.  
"Where he has one eye open and the other half closed."  
"It's sunny out, he's probably squinting," she laughed. "I want to carry the baby inside."

Paul took the carrier and their things inside and Stephanie carried Alex in behind her husband.  
"Here we are, Alex. Maybe now that you're here, you could convince your daddy to put a little more color in this house," she said, smirking at Paul.  
"His room's got plenty of color," he retorted.  
"He's not the only one who benefits from that kind of color. It livens up the house."  
"We're hardly here," Paul chuckled.  
"It's still our house," she shrugged, walking into the living room.

Stephanie sat down on the couch and cradled Alex close to her. She kissed his soft forehead and inhaled that sweet baby scent. After Paul set the bags upstairs, he came back down and joined his wife and son. He put his arm around Stephanie and looked down at Alex who was sleeping again.  
"Isn't he amazing, Paul?"  
He nodded and ran the back of his thumb across Alex's tiny cheek. "He's perfect, honey."  
"I love this feeling," Steph said, then giggled quietly. "I don't ever want to let go of him."

Paul chuckled and looked up at her. He pushed a few strands of her hair behind her ear. He loved watching her from that angle. Stephanie had this way about her, a kind of angelic look that Paul often saw.

A few hours later after Paul took a shower, he threw on some jersey shorts and walked downstairs. He stopped on the threshold and smiled, admiring the sight before him. Stephanie was laying on the couch, fast asleep with Alex sleeping peacefully on her stomach. It was picture perfect.

When he was through with admiring them, Paul walked over to the couch and gently scooped up the baby in his arms. Stephanie stirred and her eyes fluttered.   
"Shh," he whispered, "Go back to sleep, I got Alex. I'm going to put him in the bassinet, you get some rest."  
"Mmm, okay."

He smiled and kissed her forehead before leaving the room. Paul took Alex to his home gym and "showed him around."  
"This is a very important place to daddy," Paul explained, "Look at all these weights, Al. One day you'll be able to use them too. We can train together."

Alex yawned and opened his eyes again, staring up at his father with those big baby blue's.  
"And check this out," Paul went on, "This machine is one of my favorites. You get a full body workout with this one, Alex. This is one nice piece of equipment."

As Paul placed his son in the bassinet, at the foot of their bed later that night, he smiled proudly and felt overwhelmed with excitement. He was going to teach Alex everything about life. They would be best buddies, he already knew that.  
"I love you, kid," he whispered, leaning over and kissing the baby's forehead. 


End file.
